It's Friday night and I just finished cleaning the kitchen. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but this makes me feel so satisfied and content. The best part was cleaning the floor. Now this was not your Swifer cleaning. No, this was down on my knees with a rag and bucket scrubbing the floors, molding, and of course cabinets, since down that low I could see how gross they were. Why does this make me happy?!?!
Is it the satisfaction of having a goal, breaking it down, doing it and actually being able to SEE the results? How much of our work in life leaves is with results we can see? This is where white collar jobs lose their appeal. Yes, we get paid more, thank god, but there is a price. We lose ourselves because we can't really have our own thoughts with the concentration needed. We hardly ever have tangible results of our work, not on a daily or even weekly basis.(And teaching ESL, I seem to never get positive feedback. If we are ever based on how our kids do on tests, I will quit). Back to my point.
Jesus was a carpenter. Who doesn't know a spiritual carpenter? Somebody who enjoys their work? It must be satisfying to build something you can touch and then eventually use. My stepfather was a trauma surgeon and he constructed planes in his spare time. My dad was an engineer and on weekends he loved to work on the house, even built an addition. He still renovates apartments.
Back to the floors...I know there is a metaphor there somewhere. Sweeping out the old thoughts that clog our minds? About nine years ago I had an epiphany as I was scrubbing floors and I even wrote an inspired story about it, but then promptly left the story in a rental car. Maybe it will come back to me someday.
Today I did not have any sort of epiphany but I was able to clean, really clean - even the cabinet shelves! - and it gave me a purpose and now I have a shiny kitchen.
I am a simple person I guess. My mom would be proud!
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